| OCR Text |
Show ET KO THE Order Whose Foundation Stones are CHARITY, HOPE AND PROTECTION. Some Statements, Facts and Figures the Perusal and Study of Men and Women, Generally. for In consequence of the profound interest cre. ated by the publication of the following article in our last issue, we reproduce it: ITS MISSION AND PURPOSES. The Ancient Order of United Workmen, more commonly known as the A. O. U. W., isa Fraternal Benevolent Association, whose mission - ig to minister to the sick, relieve the destitute and care for the widows and orphans of its members. The Society was organized on the 27th day of October, 1868, at Meadville, Pa., and at the present time is distributing over Four and one-half million dollars per annum to the widows and orphans of its deceased members, to say nothing of the large amount expended for other benevolent purposes. Hast} ; Tt is the oldest and strongest association ofits kind in the world, having a membership of nearly two hundred and eighty thousand, distributed throughout the United States and. Canada. The objects and aims of the Order may be more fully stated as follows : 1. To unite all white male persons, who between manand Year. man. The Order realizes that the basis of all fraternal fellowship must ever be the law of love. ‘‘Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them.”’ With the Golden Rule as the basis of all its law it teaches the Divine doctrine of the brotherhood of man. It realizes that strength, solidity and success can only be the result of a United Brotherhood. To this factor it looks for success in the future as in the past. From Maine’s rock-bound shores in the Hast to California’s Golden Gate in the West, from the realms of Ontario’s Frost King in the North to Georgia’s sunny Southern clime, the banner of the Order streams, and under its protecting fold countless thousands are knit together in the indissoluble bonds of fraternal love. ITS RECORD AND SYSTEM. The A. O. U. W. has been in successful operation for twenty-three years. Thislong period of time has fully tested its merits and stability. It has passed through the crucible of formulating experience to the refined and solid substance. It has now over five thousand Subordinate Lodges with a membership of nearly two hundred and eighty thousand. Its financial system is a model of accuracy, simplicity and completeness. Monthly published statements are required to be made in each Jurisdiction every month showing a detailed account of all receipts and disbursements, so that each lodge is fully informed as to all financial transactions, thereby preventing fraud or misappropriation of funds. The following table shows the total disbursements of Beneficiary Fund to January 1, 1890: Year. The entire Order. 1668 to21878\ RR itn BOR dae $ 866,466, are 8 PLAN OF COMPARISON. OPERATIONS. Its plan of operations is simple and one that can be readily understood, and presents many features that must commend themselves at a glance to those who are interested in the work it is performing so successfully. First, The Lodge System.—Of all the systems that could have been devised, this system is undoubtedly the most democratic in principle, for it is purely a government ‘‘of the people, by the people and for the people,”’ and is consequently an untold element of strength. The Subordinate Lodgeis composed of the members of the Order, is the sole channel of admission, and is the medium through which the various funds are collected and disbursed and the detail work of the Order performed. The Grand Lodge is composed of representatives from the Subordinate Lodges, meets annually or semi-annually, and is the legislative body for the Territory over which its jurisdiction extends. The Snpreme Lodge is composed of representatives from the Grand Lodges, has Ce zs aoS 09 a oa S oO over twenty-one and under fifty years of age, regardless of nationality, political preferences, or religious belief, into a FRATERNAL BROTHER- : HOOD. 2. To give equal protection to each of its members ; to improve their mental, moral and social condition, and to inspire them with a full | ; 4.153, 768.2 appreciation of the realities and responsibilities 4,762,157.0 of life. 3. To adopt such secret work and means of recognition as will enable them to labor together in unison and harmony. 4 To hold lectures, read essays, establish 1i- dollars. The assessments are one dollar each, braries, and encourage research in art, science and are levied on the first day of the month, and literature. ne when necessary, and must be paid on or before 5. To create funds for the purpose of aiding the 28th day ofthe month. In thismanner every its members during sickness or other disability member knows on the first of the month how and generally to care for. the living and bury much he is required to pay during the month, the dead. and has ample time to make the payment before 6. To pledge its membership to the payment the last day of grace, and as the date of expiration of a stipulated sum of money to such benefici- is always the same, he can always protect himself aries, under its laws, rules and regulations, as from suspension. each member, while living, may designate to ‘For every hour thesun shines the A. O. U. W. receive it. pays out $1,000, or $12,000 every day, or $4,380, It will thus be seen that the objects and aims 000 per annum. The mantle of its protection of the Order are of such a character as must enfolds more than 2,000,000 men, women and chilcommend the Society to every intelligent and dren, and covers a quarter of a million homes,” thoughtful person. ITS legislative jurisdiction over the entire Order, and is the court of last resort in the Order. It will thus be seen that the society is controlled absolutely by the members, and its policy dictated for the good of the whole and not in the interest of a few designing persons. Second, Separate Jurisdictions.—Each Jurisdiction, generally composed of one state, when set apart as a separate Beneficiary Jurisdiction, becomes a financial unit, the members being responsible only for the death losses occurring within its limits (except under the limited provisions of the Relief Law).. This feature is an equitable one and at the same time an element of strength. It makes each jurisdiction responsible for its own mortality, guards against the liability to heavy loss arising from mismanagement or embezzlement of funds at a central office, and enables the Order to pay its death losses more promptly than it could if the receiving and disbursing power were centralized in the Supreme Lodge. * This system of Separate Beneficiary Jurisdictions, protected and strengthened by the provisions of the Relief Law,—a distinctive feature alene of the A. O. U. W.,—has proven by twenty years of experience to be, by far superior in operation and practical results to any othersystem yet devised by similar organizations. Third, Tne Relief Law.—Under the provisions of this law, each Jurisdiction is given a maximum assessment rate, based upon its own mortality, computed and fixed every three years by the Supreme Lodge. When the mortality is such that the maximum number of assessments levied in any Jurisdiction does not produce asufficient amount of liquidate ite liability for the year, then an assessment is made upon the entire organization, irrespective of Jurisdictional limits, for a sufficient amount of money to pay the surplus liability of the Jurisdiction needing relief. The responsibility ofeach member under the Relief Law is limited to three dollars per annum. This provision, at the present time supplies a Reserve Fund of nearly seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars ready upon call to protect the WORKMAN. The general death rate among fraternal societies and insurance companies, covering the entire time of their history to date, between the ages of 21 and 50, ranges from 8 to 12 per 1,000. This will enable a level assessment society like the A. O.U. W. to keep its average cost to members forever at about $10 per $1,000. Our experience for 21 years shows our protection to have cost on on average less than $8 per $1,000. Assessments have been as follows: a> w £0 oO es} An MOUNTAIN Sy % <o STOO ¢ Wo . co6c onos> ASOSOKROOROM A. O. U. W. ROCKY credit and preserve the integrity of the organization in any ofitsoverburdened parts ; besides this it establishes a sure guarantee to each and every member Of a cost per annum not exceeding the maximum amount fixed by the law. It removes the uncertainty relative to the number of assessments liable to be called in any one year, and places the guarantee of two hundred and fifty thousand members at the back of every Beneficiary certificate issued. Fourth. The Fraternal Relationship.—The highest aim of human society must ever be the attainment of peace, harmony and good will It is beyond comprehension the marvelous progress made in the last twenty years in the field of natural premium or assessment life insurance. Twenty-three years ago when the first seed of systematic Co-operative Fraternal protection was planted by Father Upchurch, in Meadville, Pa., assessment lifeinsurance wasunknown. In fact, not until 1880 did it assume prominence, so as to attract the attention of the general public. In the meantime, from 1868 to 1880, the A. O. U. W., with the assistance of its offsprings, the Knights of Henor, Royal Arcanum and other societies, had demonstrated the feasibility of mutual protection conducted upon the common sense plan of contributions from the membership monthly of a sufficient sum to liquidate the accrued liabilities caused by the death of its members. It took years of honest endeavor upon the part of these orders to convince an incredulous people that the promises of a fraternal brotherhood was as sure and reliable as the accumulated millions of the old line life companies. This confidence and popular endorsement came slowly but surely, and with it came a well defined and settled public conviction that the commodity of insurance, as sold by old line companies, was by far too selfish, too expensive and too uncertain to be classed as a public benefactor or humanitarian agent. Born of the established reputation and public confidence in the fraternal orders, assessment life insurance companies made their demand upon public attentionsabout 1880. properly they may be classed as ‘‘a half-way house” between the old liners and the fraternal orders. Partaking of the characteristics of the former, in that they sell insurance upon a more or less speculative basis, loading the actual cost to comply with what in each particnlar case may be deemed sufficient to meet the manifold items of not too closely scrutinized incidental] expenses and a reserve fund, the necessary amount and use of which is still an undetermined factor in their organism ; partaking of the character of fraternal orders, they are marked mainly by the fact that the rate of cost per year is based upon the mortality rate among its membership, and not as in the old line companies, by a fixed annual premium according to the age of entrance. The most effective contract as to relative merit, considered alone from the business standpoint, is found in the following : It cost the Ancient Order of United Workmen for the year 1890, an expense of seven dollars and sixty-seven cents ($7.67) to pay one hundred dollars to its beneficiaries—a fraction over seven and onehalf cents for each one dollar. It cost the Consolidated Mutual Assessment Companies of this country a proportionate expense of twenty-nine dollars and fifty-five cents ($29.55)to pay each one hundred dollars to its policy holders, a fraction over twenty-nine and one-half cents for each one dollar. It cost 30 old line companies a proportionate expense of seventy-three dallars and seventy-four cents ($73.74) to pay each one hundred dollars to its policy holders—a fraction less than ee lee and, three quarters cents for each one ollar. CosT OF PROTECTION. Membership at No.of Average No. beginning of year. Deaths. of Assessm’ts. LEGION UNIFORMS At Lowest Possible Prices, FROM THE MANUFACTURERS, G. F. FOSTER, SON & CO. 172 Amt, paid SEND FOR E. Madison Street, CATALOGUE. CEICAGO. P. S. WILLIAMSON, Merchant 66 W. Second SALT Total, 16,860 THE A w. 14,45 Total, $33,248,339.75 TEST. Our order deserves the best efforts of each of its members for the following reasons: 1. In its inception it compasses the original design of the Creator when he upon one made mankind dependent ‘another—in fact, it provides the way by which this design may be put into practical operation. 2. You are fulfilling the further design of the Creator by exemplifying the golden rule of self-forgetfuluess in the exercise of a broad charity. The first proposition leads us to the analysis of what man’s relations are to his fellow man, and the second to what con- stituents are necessary to exemplify charity in its broadest and most comprehensive sense. Man’s relations to his fellow man can not be tested by any uniform rule of action, but can. only be gathered by the general tendence ofa community or nation, as exemplifying the summary of action, which shows itself in the general good and benefit. Individual action bears its fruitage in the result upon other individuals, this result again bears fruit on still others, and thus an action once put in motion becomes a living, acting force, either for good or bad. The result in a community or nation is thus traceable to the individual forces that move either to upward .and onward progress, or to downward and retrogression. So, likewise, may we measure the merit of any organized movement, if it be for good or evil. The test should be: Is it benefitting mankind, or is it not?) The answer to this question should be that which established any organization in its place, either as one worthy of patronage and support or otherwise. Measured by this test, where do we find the Ancient Order of United Workmen? Has it, in its history of twenty-three years, given to the world proof conclusive that it merits the place of one of the great factors of human helpfulness? Has it borne fruit such as will entitle it to be classed as one of the great movements that lift humanity to a higher plane? No better answer can be given to these questions than that which its records show, every page of which bears evidence of its efforts to establish and maintain an affirmative answer to both of the above questions. Its thousands of widows and orphans today bear testimony to its acts of care and helpfulness, and its hundreds of thousands of dependent ones look to its protection with implicit confidence that to them a like care and helpfulness will be extended, when the hour that shall call for its manifestation shall come. He who has been a moving, helpful factor in this grand work well deserves the approbation of his fellows; but to him who, while forming a part, has been a drone in the hive, our pity extends, for he can in no wise claim a share of the honor or reward.—Keystone Workman. Tailor South LAKE MARTIN Street, CITY. SCHRIIDT, Mer. S. W. DARKE, Attorney-at-Law and Land Attorney, SALT All Kinds LAKE CITY. of Land Entries Perfected. Made and Ns LAND Rooms THEODOR CONTESTS A 44 Hooper and 4% SPECIALTY. BURMESTER, Block. E. H. KAHLER, Manager. Secretary. American Collecting Agency of Utah. Established HOGE March 1, 1884. & BURMESTER, Attorneys, Roonis 8, 4, 5, No. 236 S. Main St., over Drug Store, Salt Lake City, Utah. BOWMAN Roberts & Nelden’s P. O. Box 1444 & ZIPF, Attorneys-at-Law. Rooms 504 and 505 Progress Building, Salt Lake. Just Opened. Everything New. Union Pacific Hotel, AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN PLAN. Rates, $1.00 to $2.50 Per Day. Elevator, Steam Heat and all Modern improvements. Opp. Union Pacific Depot, Salt Lake City. BEN. F.WHITTEMORE P.O. Box 1478. Proprietor. THE CULLEN. -—— THE —— Modern Hotel of Salt Lake City ww. S. C. EWING, Leaver, Conrad DEALERS ta Prop. & Co.,. IN IWiis Ere, Lath, Shingles, Doors, Windows, Mouldings, Nails, Ete., Ete. Office and Yard, 255 W. South Temple, Telephone 514. Salt Lake City. R. H. ALLISTON, Salt Lake Towel Supply Co. Bar and Club Room P. 0. Box Supplies a Specialty. 603. WE. Salt Lake City. OPrP}E FE Manufacturer of ‘ Fine Candies and Jobber of Cigars, Etc., 54 W. Second T. C. LEWIS. South, Salt Lake City. J. B. TAYLOR. LEWIS & TAYLOR, Ir requires no action of the lodge to suspend a member who has not paid his assess- Plain and Ornamental Plasterers 126 W. Eighth South, Salt Lake City. ment by the 28th of the month. Whenthe 28th has expired, by the supreme law of the ADVERTISE in THE Rocky Mountain Order he is suspended, and he can only be reinstated by a vote of his lodge at the Workma\, the only exclusively A.O.U.W. regular meeting. Should he die in the journal in three States and one Territory ——Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah. » meantime his benefits would be forfeited, |
